


spring day

by wngkyns



Category: AB6IX (Band), YDPP (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Friends, Chronic Illness, Friendship/Love, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, Mentions of other artists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:34:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24316621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wngkyns/pseuds/wngkyns
Summary: Cherry blossoms are beautiful. Even more so is the sight of petals floating from the distant branches down to the sidewalk pavement. But watching Im Youngmin smile in delight and walk through the gentle shower of light pink for the very first time is what takes Jeon Woong's breath away.
Relationships: Jeon Woong/Lim Youngmin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	spring day

__

_“Good afternoon. I’m Lee Daehwi and I'm sixteen years old. First time.”_

_“Hi, I’m Park Woojin. Uh, eighteen. My second time.”_

_“Hello, everyone. I’m Jeong Sewoon and I’m twenty years old. This is my first time having Hanahaki like Daehwi.”_

_“Hey kiddos — yeah, Dr. Lee told me I’m the oldest here. I’m Choi Minki, second time with Hanahaki.”_

_Woong takes a deep breath. Before he knows it, all eyes are on him._

_He smiles sheepishly, his voice soft as he says, “Hello. I’m Jeon Woong, I’m nineteen. This is my third time.”_

* * *

The first time Jeon Woong realizes he’s in love is on a summer day. At the formative age of thirteen, Woong asks his older half-brother on how to impress a girl. He does know the basics—wear nice clothes, put on some cologne, make her smile with funny jokes—and his brother laughs while pulling him into a hug.

“Just be yourself, Woongie,” Changkyun says, tousling Woong's barely combed hair into resembling his bedhead. “But at least you kinda know where to start.”

“Of course I do!” Woong exclaims, cheerful grin and all, because how couldn't he? He's watched enough movies. He's seen enough shows. He's helped his friends make love letters for their crushes on Valentine's Day or White Day. He knows what love looks like, he knows what love _is._

Love is beautiful, and so he must look the part. Love feels nice, and so the feeling must be shared. Love is giving happiness, and so Woong wants to give happiness to the girl he likes.

Her name is Yoojung, a classmate in his after-school dance academy, who sports the cutest shoulder-length hair and dances like the idols she adores. Woong has known her since he's ten—she’s two years younger—and they’ve grown closer ever since they've started practicing girl group dances together. She makes Woong laugh because of her funny facial expressions and how she sometimes makes her laugh sound like a witch’s cackle, especially when she teases Woong that they're the same height even if she’s younger. 

But Woong slowly learns it’s difficult to be himself when he’s around her now that he’s aware of his feelings. He becomes more cautious of his actions, more selective of his words, more self-conscious with his outfits. He _overthinks,_ because Yoojung is the loveliest human being in his life and Woong doesn't want to be anything less than what she deserves.

Woong is thirteen when he first falls in love, paints an ideal portrait of a boy his first love should be with, and tries to bring that painting to life. But until he does, his feelings remain a trade secret only he and his brother know.

And Im Youngmin too, three months later.

* * *

_“Three times?” Daehwi gawks. “Three? Three?!”_

_Woong laughs softly, awkwardly, in hopes to ease the growing discomfort in the room. The youngest boy in the room looks at him with horror-stricken eyes, and Woojin's stare isn't any different. Even Minki seems to be at a loss for words._

_“I never knew I'd meet someone who'd survive more than two,” Sewoon says. His expression is calm with a subtle curiosity twinkling in his eyes, which oddly comforts Woong._

_“It's a long story,” he says, smiling, hoping the others don't pry on the details. He's not yet ready to divulge everything to a bunch of strangers._

_“But how?” Daehwi asks, eyebrows scrunched as he leans forward on his seat. “Having Hanahaki is hard.”_

_“And that's why I'm here with you guys,” Woong replies. He tries to keep smiling even though the pain of the present is catching up to him. “I never thought I'd lose the ability to control how much I feel for someone.”_

_The man sitting next to him—Dr. Lee—clears his throat. “It's a little too early to rush into this conversation after just introducing ourselves. Let's stick to the schedule of today's therapy session, okay?”_

_Soft answers of 'yes' fill the room. Woong's voice is the softest as he feels his throat clench._

* * *

The second time Woong realizes he's in love is on a winter eve. He's sixteen, while his brother is eighteen and in his last year of high school. The last year of high school means weeks and weeks and _weeks_ of studying for the Suneung, and Changkyun often brings home a few of his friends for study group sessions in his second semester.

They aren't a big group, but rather a mere quartet that becomes five people when Youngmin asks Woong if he can join them. Changkyun does welcome Youngmin with open arms in their group, “Any friend of Wang-ippeun is my friend too. He also told me you're smart.”

And Youngmin is, because he never lets Woong forget. Youngmin often boasts of his pursuits in his school's science invention club (and yet he never looks down on Woong for his eager participation in the flower arrangement club), and he's one of the prodigies in their dance academy for being able to pick up dance moves quickly.

But what makes him smarter than most people, in Woong's opinion, is how he easily notices when Woong likes someone.

“Minhyun seems like the kind of person you’d like,” Youngmin says. “But it’s Jonghyun, isn’t it?”

Woong is sixteen when he nods a shy yes to Youngmin's guess, before his cheeks flush as he imagines the beautiful smile of his brother's kindest friend.

* * *

_“What petals do I cough? I cough out yellow daffodils and I don't know why. Maybe it's because I know my feelings won't be returned?” Daehwi says, crossing his arms._

_“That’s tragic,” Woojin mumbles. “Well, I cough up daisies. Dunno why.”_

_“Purple lilacs, because he owns one. We practically grew it together,” Minki says._

_“Sunflower petals. The person I like is warm and has the brightest smile,” Sewoon answers._

_“Cherry blossoms,” Woong says on his turn. “Because I realized my feelings during spring.”_

* * *

Cherry blossoms are beautiful. Even more so is the sight of petals floating from the distant branches down to the sidewalk pavement. But watching Im Youngmin smile in delight and walk through the gentle shower of light pink for the very first time is what takes Jeon Woong's breath away.

Figuratively and literally.

Woong is nineteen years old when he realizes he’s fallen in love with Im Youngmin, and curses himself because he shouldn’t have.

Because Youngmin has once been loved by someone with Hanahaki, and Youngmin doesn’t want anyone with Hanahaki to fall in love with him again.


End file.
